Kaine Pearce, 10, was viciously attacked by his neighbour's American bulldog as he walked home from school.

The youngster was left covered in blood with horrific bite wounds to his head, arms and legs when the snarling beast leapt from a bush in Clifton, Nottingham.

A court heard the evil canine — named Steal — mauled Kaine as his mum Lianna Law, 30, watched helplessly on in horror.

The young lad was rushed to Nottingham's Queen's Medical Centre where he required 108 stitches during a four-hour operation.

Nottingham Crown Court was told Kaine has been scarred for life and now suffers nightmares about "a monster with big teeth chasing him".

NOTTINGHAM POST / SWNS.COM

GRUESOME: The wound was compared to that of a 'shark bite'

Perfectly timed pics that make dogs look like GIANTS

Despite appearances, we can assure you that canines haven't taken over the world. These hilarious snaps are simply the result of some clever photography, as dog owners use forced perspective to turn their four-legged friends into dogzilla style giants.

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DINNER TIME!!!

“I was screaming and he told me to calm down but I couldn't. I thought he was going to die and I was so scared”

Lianna Law, Kaine's mum

And on Friday the mutt's owner Aaron Millns and his partner Sarah Evans, both 35, pleaded guilty to having a dog dangerously out of control and accepted the judge's decision to have Steal put down.

The couple were also banned from keeping dogs for five years and handed a one-year community order.

Recorder Shaun Smith QC said the duo tried to make their garden escape-proof but had done this in "a makeshift way", by blocking a hole with wooden boards and plastic furniture.

On studying pictures of the boy's injuries, the judge said they were "horrendous" and the thigh wound "looked like a shark bite".

NOTTINGHAM POST / SWNS.COM

DEVIL DOG: Steal will no be put down

Kaine said: "Sometimes I am fine but I do get flashbacks about it. At the time I was scared.

"Sometimes when I shut my eyes I see the dog coming. At the time I was scared because I did not know if I was going to survive or not.

"It all happened really quickly and I don't remember a lot of it. I am not really bothered about the scars and I am fine with dogs I know."

The court heard how the couple were distressed following the attack and sent the boy a comic and sweets to apologise.

But Nottinghamshire Police said the dog's behaviour suggested it was not walked enough and lacked training.

The breed is not banned in the UK, and the dog was microchipped and had recently been registered with the American bulldog association.

Millns told the court the pet was walked for 40 minutes daily and there were no problems when it shared a home with two boxer dogs, who have since died of cancer.

He said: "I can handle my dog. If that was not the case, I would not have been ableto walk him and I would not have let him near my family."

But at a hearing earlier this week, at Nottingham Magistrate's Court, prosecutorAbigail Hill said: "They asked neighbours to let them know if they wanted to go down the alleyway because they would then take the dog in to ensure it was safe.

"Clearly that demonstrates some foresight of the power that dog possessed.

"This boy had horrendous injuries and suffers nightmares of a monster with big teeth chasing him."

NOTTINGHAM POST / SWNS.COM

SCARRED:Kaine has been traumatised mentally and physically

Ms Hill added that some of the bites were classified as "four or five" on a national scale where "level six" is a fatal wound.

Mrs Law, a mum-of-three, said: "Kaine did not like the dog to begin with. I told him it would be fine because I was with him - but it wasn't.

"It all happened at once, I saw the dog's head come out of the hedge and it got Kaine; it injured his head and then bit his arm.

"I went to pull him towards me and then it went for his leg. I just dragged him out of the alley and called the ambulance.

"There was a lot of blood and he was covered in it.

"I was screaming and he told me to calm down but I couldn't. I thought he was going to die and I was so scared."

Mrs Law said she was forced to use the alleyway next to the dog's home because her front door had jammed shut.

She said: "I go through phases of feeling guilty because I could not do anything and I just didn't know what to do."

Philip Plant, defending, said it had been a family pet for six years and added: "They had no inkling this dog would behave in this way. They are devastated as to what happened."